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Nebraska Uses Long Ball to Beat Iowa 79-73

January 27th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Nebraska senior guard Brandon Richardson insists he’s much happier with assists than buckets. When the Huskers needed Richardson to be more selfish, he responded with the best offensive game of his career. Richardson scored a season-high 25 points on 6 of 7 shooting from 3-point range and Nebraska rallied to beat Iowa 79-73 Thursday night for the program’s first Big Ten road win. Bo Spencer added 16 for the Huskers (11-9, 3-6 Big Ten), who bounced back from an ugly loss to Ohio State with their third win in five games. Nebraska used a late 14-4 run to take a 70-65 lead with just under three minutes left. Three-pointers from Matt Gatens and Eric May brought the Hawkeyes within two, but Toney McCray hit two free throws with 27 seconds left and Iowa couldn’t answer against Nebraska’s defense, which made a late but effective switch to zone. The Hawkeyes allowed Nebraska to score 48 points in the second half, an ugly number given that the Huskers entered play averaging just 60.7 points a night. Zach McCabe matched a career high with 20 points for the Hawkeyes (11-10, 3-5), who led by as much as 11 in the first half. It was the first meeting in 36 years between the border-state schools, who will now see each other at least once a season. Iowa will always remember the reunion as the one it let get away.